Every morning it's the same story. You leave home ten minutes early and arrive half an hour late. Suddenly, traffic jams form, roads close without warning, lanes are cut in half, temporary traffic lights bring entire neighborhoods to a standstill. And always for the same reasons: asphalt resurfacing, fiber optic excavation, water main work, electricity upgrades. All necessary work, no one doubts that. But the way it's being done has become unsustainable.
The paradox is that these yards They're almost always open during the day, often right at peak times. When people go to work, drop their kids off at school, and return home. As if the goal wasn't to reduce disruption, but to amplify it.
In many European cities, this problem has been addressed differently for years: the most invasive work is done at night. Asphalt is laid when the streets are empty, and excavation work is organized when traffic is minimal. It's a choice born not of luxury, but of respect for the community.
And so it's natural to ask: why not here? Where is the control? Where is the planning? Is it possible that no official has the duty to say: "This job cannot be done during the day"?
Some respond by citing costs, overtime, and night shifts. But that's a flimsy justification. There are professions that by their very nature require night work. An emergency room doctor doesn't close at 8:00 PM.
Firefighters don't put off a fire until morning. Law enforcement officers don't choose their safety hours. Some jobs can't afford to watch the clock, because the service they provide is essential. Road management, in a region like Campania, should be treated the same way.
And we already have proof that “it can be done”.
In the Boscoreale cemetery area last summer, many motorists were surprised to see workers at work at night. It was an almost unusual sight, but it depicted a virtuous model: roads were clear during the day, yards operational at night, disruption reduced to a minimum.
A memory that sounds bitter today, because right in the same area, in these days, they are redoing stretches of asphalt in broad daylight, blocking traffic for hundreds of meters.
That's what makes you angry. Not the works themselves, but the inconsistency.
Not the idea of improving the roads, but the way people's daily lives are sacrificed to do so.
In Campania, major public works once had an almost epic aura. "Works" were spoken of as something that would transform the face of the region. Today, however, construction sites have become synonymous with paralysis, confusion, and improvisation. A symbol not of progress, but of disorder.
Perhaps it would take very little to change everything: a clear, simple rule, truly applied.
Work that significantly impacts traffic is done at night. Period. Not out of heroism, not out of sacrifice, but out of respect. Because people's time is as valuable as the new asphalt we're laying.
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Comments (1)
Criticisms about public works are valid, but there are many things to consider. The costs of night work can be high, and easy solutions aren't always available. Worker safety must also be considered.